SEMINARY RESEARCH GUIDE
Welcome to the Wesley Seminary Guide!
This page provides information on finding and researching Bible dictionaries, commentaries, historical and cultural background information, books, articles, language resources, and ancient works. What is Research? walks you through the research and writing process.
To navigate to the different sections use the tabs above.
You can bookmark this page for quick access.
A Bible Dictionary (or Bible Encyclopedia) provides important facts and background information regarding a biblical topic. Depending on the particular dictionary, entries contain information about:
- people (Abraham, Mary, Paul)
- places (Jerusalem, Ephesus)
- events (destruction of the temple, Jerusalem Council)
- topics (persecution, family, hospitality)
- books of the Bible (1 Peter, Galatians)
- theological concepts (atonement, sanctification)
Theological Dictionaries: Focus on the theological meaning of concepts and words from the Bible. Sometimes entries are listed in Greek or Hebrew. You can use a Strong's Concordance or Interlinear Bible to identify the word if you do not know the original language.
Find Bible Dictionaries at Jackson Library
In the Library Catalog do a "Keyword" search for "bible dictionaries".
Type your search in the box below! The catalog search will pop up in a new window.
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The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible
Call Number: REFERENCE 220.3 IN8S v.1-5ISBN: 0687054273 -
Dictionary of the Old Testament - Wisdom, Poetry & Writings
Call Number: REFERENCE 223.003 D561ISBN: 9780830817832 -
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The NIV Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words by
Call Number: REFERENCE 225.3 N42V v.1-3ISBN: 0310216508 -
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New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis by
Call Number: REF 221.3 N42VISBN: 0310214009 -
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The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible by
Call Number: REF 220.5203 ST88 2010ISBN: 9781418541699 -
The New Englishman's Hebrew Concordance : Coded to Strong's Concordance Numbering System by
Call Number: REF 221.03 W639N -
The Interlinear Bible Hebrew-Greek-English 4 Volume Edition with Strong's Concordance Numbers above Each Word by
Call Number: 220.4 B471I 2005 (2nd Floor)ISBN: 9781565639805
Commentaries
Find Commentaries at Jackson Library
Accessing E-Book Commentaries in the Jackson Library Online Catalog
Technical or Critical or Exegetical: Includes very detailed, technical discussion of text. Requires some understanding of the original languages.
Examples:
International Critical Commentary
Word Biblical Commentary
Hermeneia
New International Greek Testament Commentary
Anchor Bible
Sacra Pagina
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
Expositional or Essential or Semi-Technical: Includes less technical, but still extensive discussion. Does not rely on readers' understanding of original languages but may refer to original languages.
Examples:
New International Biblical Commentary
New International Commentary on the New Testament
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
New American Commentary
New Century Bible Commentary
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
Homiletical: Intended to aid in sermon preparation. Usually based on an English translation of the Bible.
Examples:
Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary
Pillar New Testament Commentary
New American Commentary
Interpretation
Devotional or Applicational: Focuses on the basic meaning of the text and life application.
Examples:
Life Application Bible Commentary
Holman Commentary
Warren W. Wiersbe Commentaries
In EBSCO eBooks, search for:
[book of the Bible] commentaries
(ie. mark commentaries, Corinthians commentaries, etc.)
Then in the left facet, find Source Type and click eBooks to select eBooks
Here are some online commentaries we have access to (click title for access):
Word Biblical Commentary
The New International Commentary on the New Testament
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament
The New American Commentary
Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
Tyndale New Testament Commentaries
Find Commentaries at Jackson Library
Commentaries are located in two places:
Circulating Collection, 2nd floor
Reference Collection, Main floor
The general call number ranges for commentaries are:
220.7 Large sets
221-224 Old Testament
225-228 New Testament
Strategies for finding commentaries in the Catalog:
In the Library Catalog do a "Keyword" search for "[book of the Bible] commentaries".
Type your search in the box below! The catalog search will pop up in a new window.
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Search the Library Catalog For Books or E-Books
Go to: Catalog | Advanced Search |
Find one relevant commentary and click on the appropriate heading listed under "Subject" (ex. Bible. Galatians -- Commentaries.)
TIP: When viewing the list of nearby subject headings, you might want to look at "Bible. Ruth -- Criticism, interpretation, etc." as well.
In the Library Catalog do a "Subject" search for:
Bible. Ruth -- Commentaries
Bible. Corinthians, 1st -- Commentaries
Type your search in the box below! The catalog search will pop up in a new window.
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Search the Library Catalog For Books or E-Books
Go to: Catalog | Advanced Search |
Accessing E-Book Commentaries in the Jackson Library Online Catalog
The Jackson Library collections include a number of high quality full-text electronic (e-book) commentaries for student use. Click below for Microsoft Word and PDF instructions on how to search for e-book commentaries. These instructions include a "Material Type" sort that groups print books together and e-books together for ease of use. In a Material Type sort, e-books will be at the end of the results list.
- Accessing E-Book Commentaries in the Jackson Library Online Catalog (Microsoft Word)
- Accessing E-Book Commentaries in the Jackson Library Online Catalog (PDF)
Background Information - Cultural & Historical Information
Find Background Information at Jackson Library
Old Testament Background Information
Find Background Information at Jackson Library
In the Library Catalog try the following searches.
- Search for books on the specific social/cultural issue
- Search for general books on New Testament culture:
- Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture – Circulating Collection 225.95 D46H
- Understanding the Social World of the New Testament – Electronic Book (click link in the catalog)
- Search for books on the literary background of the passage:
- Examples:
- How to Read the Bible Book by Book – Circulating Collection 220.61 F32H
- How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth – Circulating Collection 220.61 F32HO
- Identify Library of Congress Subject Headings (from within a relevant book’s record) and click on those links to find more books:
- Examples:
- Bible. N.T. -- History of contemporary events.
- Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600.
Old Testament Background Information
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Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament
Call Number: REFERENCE 221 W176CISBN: 0310481619
New Testament Background Information
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Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament
Call Number: 2nd Floor 225.61 H816CISBN: 9780310282938 -
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The New Testament: It's Background, Growth & Context
Call Number: 2nd Floor 225.61 M568NISBN: 9780687052639 -
You can find Bible Atlases in the 220.91 section of the Reference Collection on the main floor.
Oversized atlases are stored in the first row before the 000's.
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Biblica: the Bible atlas : a social and historical journey through the lands of the Bible by
Call Number: REFERENCE 220.91 B471BISBN: 9780764160851 -
Find Books and E-Books on the Bible at Jackson Library
- Do a Subject search in one of the following formats:
- Bible. Acts
- Bible. Luke
- Bible. Ruth
- Bible. Mark
- Bible. Peter, 1st
- Click on relevant subject headings to view books.
- For example:
- Bible. Acts -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
In the Library Catalog do a "Subject" search for one of the subjects above.
Type your search in the box below! The catalog search will pop up in a new window.
ATLA Religion Database contains journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion.
You can also access this database at: OCLS Home Page > Article Databases > Religion > ATLA Religion Index
- Within ATLA, click "Scriptures" link at the top of the screen.
- Click "Expand" next to the book that contains your passage.
- Continue to expand until you identify your passage. At any time, if you click on the book or chapter or verse link, ATLA will give you search results for articles on that specific book, chapter or verse.
- Search for a keyword about your topic combined with a Scripture Citation search for your book of the Bible (as shown below).
- If you find one article that seems relevant, click on one of the relevant "Subjects" listed for that article in order to search for other relevant articles.
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The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Call Number: REFERENCE 220.5203 ST88 2010ISBN: 9781418541699
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The new Englishman's Hebrew concordance : coded to Strong's concordance numbering system
Call Number: REFERENCE 221.03 W639N
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The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament
Call Number: REFERENCE 221.4403 K824H v.1-5ISBN: 9004115285
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The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
Call Number: REFERENCE 220.5203 ST88 2010ISBN: 9781418541699
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New Englishman's Greek Concordance
Call Number: RESERVE (at Circ Desk) 225.48 W639EISBN: 091357323X
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An Index to the Revised Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Greek Lexicon by
Call Number: REFERENCE 487.4 B326GA 1981ISBN: 0310440319Publication Date: 1981-06-09 -
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The Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament
Call Number: REFERENCE 225.48 W639E 1996ISBN: 9781565632073
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Digital Library of Protestant TextsResource for studying religious and social upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries
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Library of Ancient Texts OnlineThe Internet's most thorough catalog of online copies of ancient Greek text, in Greek and in translation.
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Perseus Digital LibraryLarge collection of original texts, encyclopedias, and other information and tools for the study of history.
If you know the name of the ancient writer, do an author search in the Library Catalog to find reprinted and translated works by that author:
In the Library Catalog do an "Author" search.
Type your search in the box below! The catalog search will pop up in a new window.
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Search the Library Catalog For Books or E-Books
Go to: Catalog | Advanced Search |
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (27 volumes)
Located on 2nd Floor and Reference (use link above)
Includes selected ancient commentary on scripture from church fathers.
Books Containing Ancient Texts
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Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible
Call Number: 2nd Floor 221.95 SP26AISBN: 1565634071 -
OCLS & Research Help
To learn more about what research is and how to research, visit the Introduction to Research Guide.
OCLS & Research Help
To learn more about how to get research help from OCLS, visit the Introduction to Research Guide.
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Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm (ET) Saturday: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm (ET) Sunday: Closed Librarians may not be available all open hours, but will answer ASAP.
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